November 18, 2022
top trending topics
💬 For when those difficult convos arise at the Thanksgiving table…
😓 If you’re grieving the death of a child, give yourself permission to grieve at your own pace. The holidays often add speed bumps.
🔔 For if your child gets in trouble at school…So you don’t lose your cool.
🏊 When parenting seems too stressful, it’s possible to still keep swimming.
😓 If you’re just not feeling all too thankful this season, read this before the holidays kick-off.
tips & tricks for growth
strengthen your relationships with a little gratitude
There’s something about not being taken for granted and feeling valued that makes people feel better. Gratitude warms your heart and can lift both the giver and the receiver out of despair.
✨ Gratitude impacts how we relate to others and how we feel about our circumstances. What you choose to focus on is where your focus remains. Concentrating on the negative when things are hard can overwhelm you, and it teaches your brain to hone in on the worst. The alternative is to choose gratitude and find things you can appreciate during all the hard stuff going on in your life.
Practicing gratitude doesn’t have to be complicated, time-consuming, or expensive. It’s an intentional effort though to acknowledge what we are thankful for and a willingness to receive gratitude from others.
Now that you know practicing gratitude strengthens your relationships, you may be looking for ways to incorporate thankfulness into your life on the regular…
be present, don’t just bring your presence
Want to be successful and valued at work and at home—really anywhere? Be present with who you are with and who you are talking to, especially this holiday season. I know you’re gonna say, “But I am present—I’m standing right next to them!” That’s the easy part of being present. The hard part is being mentally present.
It’s impossible to be mentally present with someone when we are full of our own thoughts. Our minds are usually rethinking the past or wondering about the future.
Here are a few things to be mindful of when talking to someone:
🗣️ Listening.
Choosing to block out distractions, choosing to empty my mind of clutter, choosing to focus on the speaker, and choosing to let them know they are heard.
🗣️ Body Language.
Your body is sending signals about how engaged you are and even how much you care about what is being said.
🗣️ WAIT (Why Am I Talking?)
Listen for the right time to ask questions or take your turn speaking.
🗣️ Multitasking.
Multitasking causes us to miss so many moments.
🗣️ Mindfulness.
This is really the foundation of being present with people and in the moment with them.
Practice a few of these tips to be more present with your kids, friends, family, etc., and see the difference it makes. You can do it!
let’s get REALatable
It’s time to take things a step further & get a little intimate with a Q&A. What do you say?😉 Learn a little bit about the faces behind all of this relationship gold. This week we’re chatting with Anna Reeves McCutcheon, talented watercolorist, former FTF Intern, and now the Social Media Manager here at First Things First! Let’s get REALatable💛 & learn a little bit about her:
Q: What’s your enneagram number?
A: 🤗 I’m a 4! Finding this out made me feel SO known and not alone in the ways that I think, feel, and relate to others. Would highly recommend researching what your enneagram is if you don’t already know. Find yours here! Any fellow 4s out there?!
Q: What would you tell yourself 10 years ago?
A: 💛 I would tell my 15-year-old self to be bold and not to worry about what others think about me! I would tell myself that the things that make me different make up the most beautiful and authentic version of myself and that the differences will attract the best friends.
Q: What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
A: 😂 I really wish I had an awesome answer to this, but the truth is that I get on TikTok.
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